Personal justice and being Christian . . .

We have a young lady at morning Mass who very much wanted to learn how to do the readings. We've noticed her because she always comes to Mass in a rather tight sweat suit with her hair yanked back. I have since discovered that she usually does her walking/running either before or after Mass. Technically, she is in her 'work' clothes and I should not have judged!

The first day she went solo for the readings at Mass, I didn't recognize her when she came up the church steps. Her hair was styled softly around her face, she was wearing heels and stockings as well as her Sunday best dress. She said that she would not feel right standing in front of the altar in anything but her Sunday best even if it was a daily Mass. Her reading was perfect and you could tell she had taken the time to practice the scripture.

The same, young lady read again last week. She kept to her decision and was dressed very nicely. The next day, we found out that someone in the congregation had soundly chastised her for being inappropriately dressed for doing the readings. Very confusing as her dress was not low-cut, the sleeves were long, and the dress hit her just at the knee. The young woman was so upset, she almost decided to quit.

Thankfully, she read yesterday and came, as always, dressed in a nice outfit. I couldn't tell any difference between any of the outfits she has worn to date. They were all decent and attractive. I wondered what the crabby woman in the congregation could have been offended about. I was glad the young lady stood her ground and didn't leave. Unfortunately, I know of a couple other cases where people were 'talked' to by the same irate woman in the congregation and they never came back.

I always thought being Christian was being kindly and showing by example. I don't see how you draw people into the fold by publically telling them all that's wrong with them. Yes, people do show up inappropriately dressed for Mass. However, we don't know what brings them to Mass, in the first place, or why they are dressed that way. Everyone has a history and if you judge before you find out, you could create a turning point in that person's life that you will have to answer for come Judgement Day.

Projects begat projects . . .

Finished my All Saints Day costume projects. In all, I have made 15 costumes to sell on-line. Not sure if the project has been cost productive but I had fun doing it and helped out a lot of moms. After a hectic day of realizing it wouldn't be a great profit and swearing off any more project ideas, I'm thinking about making quilted Christmas stockings now. Hope springs eternal . . . and keeps me out of real trouble!

All too true in this day and age . . .

"There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don't know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president."
-- Kurt Vonnegut

"How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin."
-- Ronald Reagan

"Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem."
-- W. Somerset Maugham